Wuhan, China: Sweat Lodge

07.09.10

After a week in Shanghai for all the Expo shenanigans, we hit the road for five more shows in China, heading off the beaten path to Hangzhou, Nanjing, Hefei, and Wuhan. Traveling by train with all our gear and luggage was quite the logistical challenge; but once we had manoeuvered our way through the vast throngs of people, loaded all aboard, and shoved all our items in every nook and cranny, the swiftly moving train was the perfect chance to chat with strangers and absorb the incredible glimpses of the country side southwest of Shanghai. Flat, overdeveloped spreads turned into lush, rolling hills and farms – so green it almost hurt your eyes to look it at. I’m sitting backstage after the Wuhan show. These cities (Nanjing, Hefei, Wuhan) are shocking and overwhelming in their size and chaos. We are starting to realize that there is Shanghai and Beijing, and then there is China. These cities are a bizarre and often disturbing mix of 3rd world and 1st world coexisting together in close quarters. But lively, bursting with activity, and with a frantic, dissatisfied feeling in the air – ie. a very interesting place to play a rock and roll show. The clubs have been strange, filthy and wonderfully quirky. The audiences vibrate with enthusiasm, their faces shining up at us with open-minded excitement. So different from North American audiences…where cynicism reigns and we have all gotten in the bad habit of taking the live rock show for granted (myself included). Playing a rock show here in China is endlessly inspiring sweaty as all hell. Coming off the stage tonight it literally looked like we had just jumped in the swimming pool in all our clothes. I had to RING OUT my dress in the bathroom after the show, as did Adam and Piers (well, not dresses in their case). For reals. –Antonia